return to top

by Terese Henry
When you see Joyride on the video store shelf, you might think it's a typical teen movie. Three kids driving cross-country pull a prank on a truck driver on the c.b radio that goes too far. However, unlike most teen movies, the acting is great, the characters are real and engaging, and the plot is, for the most part, unpredictable and fast-paced. It is also well-directed, with some unique shots and perspectives.

The movie's stars are three excellent young actors. Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious, Pleasantville) is Lewis, a freshman at Cal Berkeley who buys a very large, very old car on the spur of the moment so that he can pick up the girl of his dreams, Venna at the University of Colorado, on his way home to the East coast. Venna is played by one of my favorite young actors, Leelee Sobieski (Joan of Arc, Glass House, Eyes Wide Shut). However, on the way, he also decides to pick up his older, troubled brother Fuller, played by Steve Zahn (Out of Sight, You've Got Mail).

Paul Walker is cute enough to be attractive to girl audiences, but not so cute that he turns off guys with teen idol looks. Leelee Sobieski is such a great actor that you forget how pretty she is because her roles so far haven't relied on her looks. Steve Zahn plays the zany, ne'er-do-well perfectly. We all know this type of guy, the friend or relative you know you should stay away from because trouble always follows, but his charisma and devil-may-care attitude always sucks you in to doing something you iknow you probably shouldn't.

Fuller buys a c.b. radio, concocts a charade in which his younger brother portrays a female on the radio, a.k.a. Candy Cane. Quickly, "she" charms a lonely trucker known as Rusty Nail. When a patron angers the hot-headed Fuller at a roadside motel, he develops a scheme of revenge in which "Candy Cane" invites Rusty Nail for a romantic rendezvous in the unsuspecting patron's motel room. Of course, things go terribly wrong and result in a trail of dirty (and creative) tricks including many chases, a couple of kidnappings, and lots of other surprises. Rusty Nail's revenge on the boys is similar to other "road rage" movies such as Duel and The Hitcher.

I don't read many movie reviews, or at least not in their entirety, because they tell too much of the plot, so I won't do that here. This movie isn't one of the best ever, but it is good entertainment - suspenseful and not too gory. It also has my two main requirements for a successful movie: a sympathetic character and some sort of redeeming social value. Most people can definitely relate to Paul's involvement in a funny prank gone bad, especially if you can remember being a college freshman. And finally, Joyride is an excellent reminder of what we all already know: Don't have fun at someone else's expense, especially if you don't know who you are dealing with.

Terese Henry

return to top

Screen formats: Widescreen

Subtitles: Spanish

Sound: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround).

Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; commentary with the director, actors, and writers; making-of featurette; deleted footage; 4 alternate endings.

Hidden Features: On 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's release of the teenage thriller 'Joy Ride,' you can find some additional stuff if you know just where to look.

From the disc's Main Menu go to the 'Special Features' section where you select 'Deleted Scenes.' That will take you to a screen listing the cast members for the deleted scenes and alternate endings, and at the bottom of that screen you will notice two road-sign-shaped icons for back and continue, respectively. Select the 'Continue' sign and then press the 'Up' arrow key on your remote control, to highlight the taillights of the car on the screen. Press 'Enter' now to view the DVD production credits.

return to top

Complete Cast:

return to top